The prepackaging of an instant beverage material between stacked cups provides a quick and convenient way to dispense such products, which may be easily reconstituted by the addition of hot water for hot beverages or cold water for cold beverages. Hereinafter, the phrase "instant beverage material" shall be understood to mean any dehydrated, deliquescent, or hygroscopic material which can be reconstituted, rehydrated. or otherwise prepared by the addition of water or similar liquid.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,289,385 and No. 3,227,273 illustrate a conventional stack of cups and a method of packaging them, in which the beverage material is preferably deposited in a cap seat located at the underside of the bottom of each cup and is enclosed by a similar nested cup. The cap seat and the superimposed cup provided a generally sealed chamber when held together under axially applied force. A plastic overwrap and band secure the cups together and provide the axial force to hold the cups nested and provide a vapor barrier to lengthen the shelf-life of the product. The premeasured amount of material resides between adjacent cups and is dispensed by gravitational force when the lower cup of an upright stack is withdrawn from the stack. Upon the addition of hot water, the material dissolves or otherwise absorbs the moisture, resulting in a ready meal or hot drink, but without requiring the extensive facilities or appliances that are usually required to provide such a product.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,289,385 and No. 3,227,273, the cups are filled with the material while the cup is inverted and the cap seat facing upwardly. The deposited material substantially fills the cap seat cavity. Cups having such cap seat cavities are standard paper or plastic coated paper cups which have been formed by machines which combine a frusto-conical, peripheral wall and a bottom circular disk in a conventional and well-known manner to complete the cup having the cap seat. Coffee, hot chocolate, and other materials have been packaged in the inverted cap seat. As disclosed in these patents, a sealed enclosure is formed when the next cup is telescoped to engage its bottom disk with the rim edge of the filled inverted cap seat. This cup-to-cup sealing engagement relies, however, on nesting of the cups to prevent sifting of the material in the sealed enclosure.
Attempts have been made to fill the cups from the top and to merely telescope the cups together without a seal enclosure for the materials in the cups. The results of such attempts have exhibited a number of deficiencies. One deficiency is that the enclosed material can sift out of the containment and between the walls of the stacked containers. Not only does this sifting action cause a loss of product and thus deprive the ultimate consumer of the proper portion, but the material which sifts past the walls of the stacked containers also makes the package of stacked cups unsightly if a transparent overwrap is used. Further, the sifted material will adhere to the outer cup wall and will be sticky and dirty when handled by the user.
In an attempt to remedy this problem, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,951 issued to Green is a package of stacked cups which contains dehydrated beverage product portions between adjacent cups. The cups are filled from the top and are configured to form a seal when nested to prevent sifting of the beverage product between adjacent cup walls. Preferably, the cups are retained in the stacked condition by applying a compressive, axially directed force to the cups using a plastic overwrap cover or by a restraining band which encircles the stack and tightly bears on the cups. The stacking cup arrangement disclosed by Green requires the use of cups, however, which must be specially formed to provide a seal when stacked. Thus, readily available cups with other stacking configurations cannot be used to achieve the stacking cups which are sealed. Second, the sealed stacking cups disclosed by Green rely on the adjacent cups which are nested to maintain the beverage product sealed within the cup. Upon removing a cup from the stack, the beverage product is no longer constrained within the cup and can be easily spilled. Third, in order to maintain the seal between the cups, the stacking arrangement must be held together with an overwrap or a restraining band.
The present invention overcomes the limitations, difficulties, and shortcomings of the prior art by providing an apparatus and method for making an instant beverage container and the product produced thereby which provides a premeasured amount of a beverage product securely constrained within the container.